A tenya jig head, which includes a sinker head serving as a fishing weight and a hook, has been conventionally used as a fishing tackle for tenya fishing. For example, the tenya jig head 90 as shown in FIG. 11 includes a sinker head 91 and a hook 92 having a rear end thereof embedded in the sinker head 91 for integration. The sinker head 91 includes an eye 93 to which a fishing line is to be attached.
The sinker heads in conventional tenya jig heads have been formed of lead. This is because lead is highly workable and has a high specific gravity of about 11.5. Sinker heads having a higher specific gravity are smaller and thus easier to use.
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-85535 (the “'535 Publication”), a tenya jig head for use with a small bait fish is disclosed. A hook is integrally fixed on the weight body (the sinker head). The hook includes a barb diverging from the hook and projecting toward the weight body. Thus, it is asserted that a baitfish can be put on the hook only by piercing the hook into the baitfish.
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-165732 (the “'732 Publication”), a tenya jig head for catching a cutlassfish is disclosed. The weight is provided at the middle thereof a sleeve extending through the weight, and a hook can be inserted into and pulled out from the sleeve. One end of the hook is pierced from a tail to abdomen and mouth of a baitfish, and the other end of the hook is inserted through the sleeve in the weight. The hook is fixed on the weight as follows. A wire having a pin on one end thereof is passed through a retaining hole provided in one end of the hook and further through the bottom portion and inner portion of the weight and pulled out upwardly; then, a snood connecting part is provided on the wire.
As shown in the '535 Publication, conventional tenya jig heads include a hook integrally fixed on a sinker head. Therefore, a tenya jig head having a worn hook is replaced with new one and disposed of. It is unreasonable to dispose of an entire tenya jig head having a worn hook.
Since the environmental load of lead has recently been emphasized, lead is being replaced with other alloys, particularly tungsten, for use in tenya jig heads. Tungsten has a higher specific gravity than lead (about 19.0) and is hard enough to undergo almost no deformation during use. Since the prime cost is higher than that of lead and the workability is lower than that of lead, a weight made of tungsten is expensive. Therefore, it is not preferable to dispose of a tenya jig head including a sinker head made of tungsten only because the hook is worn.
In the '732 Publication, the hook can be separated from the weight and replaced with new one. However, this hook a special one, not an ordinary hook. Additionally, the procedure to fix the hook on the weight is complex and thus is troublesome for anglers not used to it.
In the conventional tenya jig head shown in FIG. 11, a body of the tenya jig head is divided into two parts, and a hook having eyes is welded between these two parts. The metal used for the welding has a lower specific gravity than lead and tungsten. Therefore, the welding part lowers the specific gravity of the entire tenya jig head.